Francesca Michielin
| birth_place = Bassano del Grappa, province of Vicenza, Italy | genre = Pop | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 2011–present | label = Sony Music (2012–present) | associated_acts = Elisa, Fedez | instrument = Vocals, piano, bass | website = francescamichielin.it }} Francesca Michielin (born 25 February 1995) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame after winning the fifth series of the Italian talent show X Factor. Her first single, "Distratto", debuted atop the Italian FIMI Top Digital Downloads chart and was certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Michielin's debut studio album, Riflessi di me, was released in October 2012, preceded by the single "Sola". She also appeared as a featured artist on Italian rapper Fedez's singles "Cigno nero" and "Magnifico", both of which achieved commercial success in Italy. Early life Michielin was born in Bassano del Grappa, to Vanna Moro and Tiziano Michielin. She has an older brother, Filippo. Her first approach with playing music came studying piano, and she later started studying bass too. At the age of fourteen, she started singing in her hometown's gospel choir. Thanks to her brother, she developed an interest in rock music, and she later focused on artists like Bon Iver, Jeff Buckley and Damien Rice. Music career ''X Factor'' (2011–2012) Michielin auditioned for the fifth series of X Factor in 2011, singing Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". Mentored by Simona Ventura, during the live shows she performed songs including Adele's "Someone Like You", "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors, and "Higher Ground". On December 29, 2011, during the semi-final, Michielin sang for the first time the previously unreleased song "Distratto]]", written by Elisa and Roberto Casalino.The following week in the finals on January 5, 2012, she was announced the winner, beating runner up vocal group I Moderni. Michielin's prize was a recording contract with Sony Music, with a stated value of €300,000. After X Factor Her debut single "Distratto" was released as a digital download EP on 6 January 2012. On 12 January 2012, the song debuted at number one on the Italian Singles Chart, and it was later certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, for domestic downloads exceeding 60,000 units. The song was included in Michielin's debut Extended Play, Distratto, physically released on 24 January 2012. The EP includes re-recorded versions of some of the songs she performed during the live shows. On 17 February 2012, Michielin appeared as a guest during the fourth night of the 62nd Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Al posto del mondo" with contestant Chiara Civello. Michielin's second single, "Sola", was released on 31 August 2012. The single preceded her debut studio album, Riflessi di me, featuring collaborations with producer Andrea Rigonat and singer-songwriters Elisa and Roberto Casalino. Michielin also contributed writing three songs on the album, including the title-track, co-written with Elisa and Virginio Simonelli. Riflessi di me later spawned the singles "Tutto quello che ho" and "Se cadrai". In March 2013, Michielin was featured on the song "Cigno nero" by Italian rapper Fedez. The song, co-written by Michielin herself, was included in Fedez's album Sig. Brainwash − L'arte di accontentare and was released as its second single. In 2014, Michielin took part in the theatrical performance La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla, with music written by Franco Battiato. The show was held at Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 19 and 20 January 2014. On 28 March of the same year, Michielin released a new single, "Amazing". The song, entirely composed in English, was written by Michielin with Fausto Cogliati and Negin Djafari for the Italian version of the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In 2014, Michielin also returned working with Fedez, recording the track "Magnifico" for his album Pop-Hoolista. After being released as the album's second single, the song reached the top spot of the Italian Top Digital chart, and it was certified triple platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry. In April 2014, Michielin confirmed she was working on new material. The single "L'amore esiste", produced by Michele Canova, was released on 6 March 2015, to precede her second studio album. Discography Studio albums Extended plays Singles As lead singer As featured artist Album appearances Music videos Awards and nominations External links * Francesca Michielin at Allmusic * Francesca Michielin discography at Discogs * Francesca Michielin at Musicbrainz Category:Artists Category:IMF 31 Artists